actual domestic places to ride and camp is a commodity worth highlighting, especially in these economic times.

explicit and tacit knowledge of the craft.
this is to say- explicit: technical data and specific procedures of how to use.
tacit: the experience of the "doing".

a lot of bike packing comes down to being able to actually use the gear, knock out the miles, not get hurt, and crunch the numbers to achieve the goals.

however... the tacit side of the craft is your own personal inner journey. I suppose an analogy would be something like... do you really need to carry a tent and thermarest inflatable mattress. Maybe your own personal being can be such that "the yoga, or asana" that you can engage, is such that you can simply lay on the ground and go to sleep.

maybe you don't need to carry a stove because you are proficient in micro-twig fires, etc...

francis: good on you for bringing the Bike Packing Forum to MTBR!

in the world of bicycles, we have touring.
in the united states we have the Tour Divide.
out of the bike packing world, I firmly believe that "touring" will never be the same.

I'd be interested in hearing about camping, cooking and survival skills. Gear is good to, but how to travel light and still be able to survive, eat, and handle emergencies t is something I don't recall seeing a lot of discussion about.

Las Vegas, Nv for me. I've only been doing this for a few months (3 outings so far ) so really looking forward to the discussions on gear and the trip reports especially the ones from az, ca, nv, and ut.

Awesome! My riding buddies and I have always bandied about the idea of an overnighter on the AZ trail, which being family guys is always a bit difficult to coordinate and being in AZ means summer is out of the question but perhaps I can learn from this forum enough to get us all out and back!

I'm here to learn, share, and otherwise delve into the joys of bikepacking. I'm a 2010 CTR finisher, a 2011 CTR non-finisher, and a 2011 Kokopelli 24-hour finisher. I'm never going to win a bikepacking race, but I train and ride for the adventure and enlightenment that can be found by pushing hard into the unknown. Thanks to Francis for opening up a new forum!

I would be interested in knowing some weekend warrior type places to go, including "must-see" spots. Also, some family friendly (i.e. can tow a trailer with a youngin') spots. I move around a lot and want to raise my kids in the outdoors.

First, I want to thank Francois for creating the new forum. Second, thanks to bikepacking.net for drawing so much attention to the sport and creating a venue for me to learn and live vicariously through others adventures the last few years.

I've only done two quick overnighters but I hope to expand on that this year but even if I can't, the planning and daydreaming are pretty fun, too.

Never done any off road bikepacking (but lots of ultralight backpacking). I often do day-long adventures and want to lengthen them into multi-days trips. I'm Interested in places to explore this "discipline" within reasonable distance from the bay area.

Given the surge of interest in events, bikes/gear, and threads, it seems like a good time to start this forum.

This forum has been overdue since 2004, when the coverage here of the Great Divide Race basically started the sport.

We have Bikepacking.net, and now we have an MTBR forum. Great. I feel this forum will be the most popluar one here before long.

Finished the CTR twice. AZT 750 once. AZT 300 once.ITT'd the CT in 2008. Failed in the CTR once. Failed the Grand Loop three times. A lot of practice runs and overnighters as well.

My store in Idaho Springs, CO sells the only all-natural mineral oil-free chamois cream on the market (Geronimo Pain Cream). It doubles as a super strong pain cream. It was specifically designed for bikepack races.

I am planning to finish the AZT 750 again in April. It is a very rare jewel and as hard a race as one can imagine. The Grand Canyon hike is off the charts difficult.

Long time backpacker (AT thru-hike in 2000), even longer-time cyclist (did my first mtb racing in the early 90's), but oddly enough, only combined the two on a few short occasions, many years ago. Time that ought to change!

I'd like to see local trips. I live in Vermont, and I've been trying to think of some fun multi-day offroad trips, but there just aren't that many long stretches of trail up here. Plenty of dirt road though... need to do more exploring this year...

This

I was checking out bikepacking.net, but seem to always forget it's there.

I nominate SelfPropelledDevo for moderator, if he's willing.

Me, I've never done an overnight bikepacking trip. I've just been reading, gathering info, and I did a couple of fully loaded test rides. Cinderella in JMP is a blast when loaded up with 20 pounds of gear, no suspension and rim brakes, I'll tell 'ya.

I'm hoping to do an overnighter from home to Mt. Diablo when the weather warms up and the trails dry out a bit. When I gain more confidence, I'll do a multi-nighter.

Exploring where I live on the Southern Tablelands, I find most enjoyable. In this neck-of-the-bush it is reasonably hilly. I've no concept of what riding long distances on flat ground is like because I cant see over the Great Dividing Range.

One day I might make it into the desert, which covers about 3/4 of the Continent of Australia. Until then I'l keep hiking the bike along the old trails of the Divide.

My set-up is designed for unsupported touring, for up to 8 weeks at a time. This has come about because there tends to be (for much of the time) no where to adequately resupply. One of the joys of off-road touring here is that there are few people. I always tour solo because I enjoy doing photography ... photography takes time.

As I have said before, it is actually pretty natural to add some extra gear, and spend a night or two+ on your mountain bike. I live right on the border of Tahoe National Forest, between two rivers, and have spent many an overnight- either along the water or up on a ridge, or both. There is virtually no limit to the distance I want to ride. When in another country, I just look for the same thing- what a way to see new places, and cultures. Adventure always guaranteed, and never a question on how I am spending my time on this Earth.

One of my favorites was a single nighter on the Tiger Leaping Gorge Trail China.
I'll never doubt my wanderlust ever again.

Back pack is filled w only my 2.5 lb sleeping bag, and my down jacket, lazily unstuffed. Just in case you thought that was a huge load; too many lbs will just kill your shoulders-